Team:Caltech

Abstract

Our project aims to use dual-wavelength light transduction to produce arbitrary 3D shapes of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) plastic from soybean oil. Using a radical crosslinking reagent, we will crosslink PHB oligomers in cell lysate, released upon a light-induced lysis gene network. We hope to apply this capability to three dimensional printing, offering a cheap alternative to current rapid-prototyping technologies. We also plan to apply special consideration to the ramifications of possible commercial enterprises developed in iGEM competitions with open source materials, such as BioBricks.

Specific goals include:

• Maximize the speed of the printing process
• Minimize the resources and know-how required to print
• Maximize the resolution of our printer
• Maximize the hardness of the plastic produced
• Minimize the smell of bacteria in the final product
• Create colored plastic using bacterial pigments
• Research crosslinking other compounds to create hydrogels instead of plastic